The sponsor has presented plans to address these impacts to ensure that the proposed project will, upon implementation of the specific measures agreed, comply with applicable host country laws and regulations and World Bank/IFC requirements. The information about how these potential impacts will be addressed by the sponsor/project is summarized in the paragraphs that follow:
As part of the project preparation the Sponsor evaluated different locations in the northern and central regions of Algeria. The current site location was chosen based on technical evaluations and the result of a public consultation. The site selection (plant site and supporting quarry sites) has focused on avoiding sensitive habitats and avoiding land otherwise used by the local population (therefore, avoiding any resettlement of peoples), while locating as near as possible to high quality raw materials.
The plant site is located on the west side of route CW25 (Bourdj Bourerdj – M’sila) about 25 kilometers north of M’sila, 7 kilometers south east of Hamman Dalaa. Wilaya of M’sila is in central Algeria some 240 kilometers from Algiers. The plant site selection has avoided sensitive habitats and is in practice located on arid (rock dominated) land. The land surrounding the plant site is extremely marginal and is not used for agriculture or cultivation. The site has been used, rarely, for low intensity grazing, and local sheepherders have been consulted and informed of the project. There is broad local consensus that there is enough available land for continuing grazing purposes in the surrounding area. It has also been confirmed that the sites do not function as migrating corridors for wildlife, and do not have archaeological, religious or historic value. A second evaluation requested from an Algerian biologist as well as a site visit by IFC environmental and social specialists have confirmed the land as marginal land without any current significant use.
The sites are served by several local roads, of which some will be upgraded from dirt roads to paved roads as part of the project development. The power and the fuel connections (gas pipeline) will be established using right-of-way on public land therefore avoiding resettlement. The sponsor also plans on building an access road to avoid heavy traffic in the nearby settlement (Debil). Five private landowners will provide right-of-way access for this purpose. They have been consulted and provided compensation based on a willing-buyer willing-seller basis and Algerian law. The company will further assist in local community development by assuring that a local bridge in Debil will be re-built (recently destroyed in a flash flood). There is no further physical resettlement or economic displacement caused by the project or its infrastructure connections.
The limestone quarry, supplier of the main raw material flow, is located within a kilometer of the site, while the clay quarry is located 17 kilometers from the plant site. The closest high quality gypsum deposit (there are several supply options) is located 18 kilometers from the plant site.
The cement technology used will be a state-of-the-art low energy dry process with pre-calciners and fired by natural gas, which is readily available from local distribution networks. The use of natural gas combined with pre-calciners and dry technology will allow the plant to be among the most energy efficient plants in the world. The use of natural gas also has the advantage of resulting in lower NOx generation than similar operations fired with oil, coal or alternative fuels and the plant will have no problems in keeping below the World Bank guideline limit of 600 mg NOx/Ncm.
Dust emissions from the upstream lime quarry operations will be limited by the use of covered conveyor belts. At the cement plant a combination of electrostatic and bag filters will ensure full compliance with the World Bank guidelines (maximum 50 mg dust/Ncm) and local requirements.
The low sulfur content in the fuel and the feedstock will ensure compliance with the World Bank guidelines and local requirements for sulfur dioxide emissions (maximum of 400 mg SO2/Ncm).
The good raw material quality will allow the plant to produce high quality cement without the need for a “by pass”/”bleed”. Hereby the generation of solid waste from the process is eliminated.
Taking into account the local water situation, the sponsor has confirmed that water consumption at the plant will be minimal due to the use of dry technology. Further, the industrial water needed at the plant will be circulated in a closed loop, while sewage water will be cleaned and used for irrigation of green belts.
The project will include progressive quarry reclamation plans for gradual implementation during the lifetime of the quarries. The quarries will, where needed, have overburden removed and stored for later re-application. Since the land is arid the main purpose of the land reclamation plan will be to create a landscape (profile) in harmony with the existing and surrounding landscape.
ACC’s commitment to its local neighbors and surrounding communities will be further evidenced by its commitment to and fair treatment of its employees. ACC will comply with and follow fully Algerian’s labor laws and has developed an internal human resource and labor code (règlement intérieure) which will be approved by the Algerian government ministry responsible for labor regulations. Algerian laws require that no one under 17 be employed and in this respect ACC will comply with Algerian labor law and IFC’s Harmful Child Labor policy statement. ACC plans to recruit local laborers to the extent possible with special attention given to both experienced and non-experienced members of local, surrounding communities. ACC estimates generating employment in the range of 1,800 people during construction (1,200 reserved for local laborers) and 1,200 during operation (800 reserved for local laborers). ACC will provide access to training for its employees to ensure that local Algerians receive the highest possible chance to refine and improve their skills and advance within the company over time. ACC will also provide transport by bus from key local centers (such as M’Sila); will build some limited workers’ housing (for workers during both construction and operation) and will build both a health clinic and a canteen for workers on site. The company also plans on providing life insurance and supplemental health insurance for its employees (over and above that provided by the Algerian government). An economic roll over effect on the local supply chain is expected with up to 3,000 additional indirect employed positions generated. Both ACC and the local community leadership are mindful of the potential influx of people from outside of the area and they will need to manage this aspect of induced development carefully.
The ACC project has followed an approach to public consultation taking into account Algeria’s own cultural characteristics and the local and national regulatory system. This has included the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in French, consistent with local requirements and containing the same basic elements as required according to the World Bank policy on environmental assessment. The preparation of the EIA was followed by a public disclosure period from November 3rd to December 2nd, 2001. During this period the EIA was available in the closest municipality (Hammam Dalaa, 7 kilometers from the site) and comments were collected from the interested public. Village consultative meetings have also been held to discuss the project and its impacts. Five days after the end of the public disclosure period, the local authorities issued an approval based on a no-objection basis. IFC specialists have reviewed the official files covering the public consultation. In addition, consistent with IFC’s own requirements on public consultation and disclosure for Category B projects, this ERS will be distributed locally in a culturally appropriate manner (translated in both Arabic and French) in order to facilitate further awareness of the project by local stakeholders.
· A comprehensive Environmental Management System (EMS) will be developed to monitor environmental and safety compliance. This is in line with a corporate EMS initiative being implemented at the sponsor’s other cement operations in Egypt.
